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Monday, March 23, 2015

Woodrow Wilson Library reopens

The renovated Woodrow Wilson Library reopened March 21. Opening day festivities for the library, on 6101 Knollwood Drive in the Culmore
area, included a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Mason Supervisor Penny Gross, Rep. Gerry Connolly, and other county officials and
children’s entertainment.

The new14,420-square foot building has eight more computer stations than the
old one, for a total of 24, and new seating areas, says Chris Finger, the manager of the Wilson Library, whose first day on the job was March 21. The $4.1 million renovation and expansion project was funded with a county bond approved by voters in 2004.

There is a large community room and three new small meeting rooms, including open after hours. People
who want to use it after the library is closed will need to reserve it in advance and will be given an access code.

Unlike the old days, when librarians went around hushing
people, libraries today allow people to talk and read aloud to children,
Finger notes. For people who need silence, there’s a quiet study area with
soundproof walls.

There is a lot of empty space on the library shelves, but
that is because not all the books have been returned and unpacked, Finger says.
The library will have 50,000 books and DVDs, the same amount as before the renovation, he says.
However, library advocates maintain there had been a lot more, about 74,000, a few years
ago, before Fairfax County Public Libraries began culling the collection.

4 comments:

What a gorgeous place! Absolutely love it! I especially love the fact it has so much study space.Love the desks all around and the fact it has so many computers .The study spaces are so nice especially for the kids and teens who may stop there to do homework etc.Such a good investment in many futures.Can't say enough about how nice this is.I have been going to Woodrow Wilson ever since the original one was built and still go today :-) Thank you Fairfax Co!

Jan. 16 - Annual Give Together, a family volunteer event on the Martin Luther King National Day of Service, Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia, three shifts (9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 1:30 p.m.). Sign up with Volunteer Fairfax. 703-246-3828,